Dublin Airport has largely outperformed the aviation watchdog’s financial expectations since 2022, but has undershot its capital expenditure forecasts due to planning delays, according to the Irish Aviation Authority (IAA).
On Tuesday, the regulator opened a two-month public consultation that will inform its decision on the new maximum charge that airlines will have to pay to operate at Dublin Airport, which is operated by State-owned DAA.
It comes in advance of the watchdog’s decision, due next year, on the new maximum level of airport charges for the following four years, beginning on January 1st, 2027.
Since the last determination was made in 2022, Dublin Airport has “markedly outperformed” forecast commercial revenues, largely due to stronger-than-expected passenger growth, the IAA said.
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The watchdog had forecast traffic to reach 31.7 million in 2023 and 33.6 million in 2024. However, some 33.5 million passengers travelled through Dublin Airport in 2023, followed by 34.6 million in 2024.
[ DAA lands near €300m profit despite passenger cap limitationsOpens in new window ]
The IAA said it will have to consider what methodologies and data sources it uses to forecast future traffic in advance of the 2026 decision on airport charges.
However, the watchdog said that Dublin Airport’s capital expenditure has been “well below” the forecast it made in 2022. This is due to certain “capacity-enhancing and passenger experience-related projects” being “held up in the planning process” as part of the airport’s infrastructure application.
It will be the first time that the IAA has made this determination after the Commission for Aviation Regulation, which previously had responsibility for the decision, was merged into the IAA in 2023.
The watchdog said that the “key objective” of the decision on a new maximum airport charge “will be to promote and protect the interests of current and future airport users”.
